Dimension 9200 HD problems -- problem found

Actually, that's good. As I recall, you don't have the problem.
"HDRDTD" <> wrote in message
news: ...
> Not me Tom, sorry. 8800GTS here.
>
> "Tom Scales" <> wrote in message
> news:45c6233a$0$19034$...
>> It would be interesting, but I have results from a 1/2 dozen people.
>>
>> For those that sent me your results, does anyone have the nVidia 7300LE?
>>
>>
>> <RnR> wrote in message news:...
>>> Since you are probably more familiar with the internal specs than
>>> myself, I need to get back to you and tell you the bios I have (stock)
>>> and the hdtune findings. I won't forget but I still need to take
>>> care of a few things on my 9200 (technically xps410 but you know what
>>> I mean) and so it will be a while before I get back to you on this.
>>> I just thought it might be of interest to you but if I'm wrong, just
>>> tell me to forget about it <g>.
>>>
>>> Oh, forgot to say earlier congrats in solving your problem and maybe
>>> ours later on !!
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Sun, 4 Feb 2007 11:27:01 -0500, "Tom Scales" <>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>>You won't. Great machines. I shouldn't need 2Gb for the application I
>>>>am
>>>>running. Shouldn't need anything beyond a 32mb video card either.
>>>>
>>>>Be interesting to see Dell's response
>>>><RnR> wrote in message
>>>>news: m...
>>>>> Not that this will worry me (as I don't record tv) but in my case my
>>>>> 9200 came with 2 gigs ram so my problem is solved thanks to you !! I
>>>>> had to have a FAST trigger finger watching the outlet store when
>>>>> this particular 9200 w/ 2gigs ram came up because its price was just a
>>>>> tad above the others which only had 1 gig. I already priced ram
>>>>> elsewhere so I knew this system was well priced and decided to opt for
>>>>> 2 gigs based on things I read about Vista earlier. It does pay to
>>>>> read ahead, plan ahead and have a fast trigger finger <g>. Actually
>>>>> you and Barry also get some of the credit for swaying me to go for the
>>>>> 2 gigs of memory as well as my outside reading. Thanks because this
>>>>> 9200 is a nice pc. I have NO regrets.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Sun, 4 Feb 2007 10:13:53 -0500, "Tom Scales" <>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>As some of you know, I've had hard drive performance problems on the
>>>>>>boot
>>>>>>drive of my new Dimension 9200. I do not see the problem on other
>>>>>>drives,
>>>>>>either SATA or IDE. It is not the physical hard drive, as I swapped
>>>>>>it
>>>>>>for
>>>>>>a larger, different brand and the problem remained.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>BIOS 1.0.3 work OK, but with some performance problems
>>>>>>BIOS 2.x.x is unusable. The hard drive performance drops to almost
>>>>>>Zero
>>>>>>every few seconds -- or sometimes less frequently, but enough to make
>>>>>>the
>>>>>>drive useless for TV recording.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Thought I'd try some different variations. For some reason, the video
>>>>>>card
>>>>>>came to mind, as it is an nVidia 7300LE that uses system memory. The
>>>>>>machines have 1GB and I'm not doing anything video card intensive, so
>>>>>>it
>>>>>>shouldn't matter.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>But it does.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Swapping the 7300LE for either an ATI X300SE (which also uses system
>>>>>>memory)
>>>>>>or an nVidia 7600GS (which doesn't) solves the problem. In
>>>>>>particular,
>>>>>>the
>>>>>>7600GS results in absolutely smooth graphs in HDTune.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Upping the memory to 2GB (stealing the 1GB from my other 9200) solves
>>>>>>the
>>>>>>problem for the 7300LE!
>>>>>>
>>>>>>So the problem is related to the nVidia 7300LE.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>I've sent the information to Dell (although I don't expect a response
>>>>>>today). I've asked that they resolve the problem, either with a
>>>>>>better
>>>>>>nVidia card (don't want an ATI) or more memory. Reasonable solutions,
>>>>>>I
>>>>>>believe, since it is a flaw in the system.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Comments welcome.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Tom
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>

What is the size of your paging file on these 9200s with the 7300 card?



"Tom Scales" <> wrote in message
news:45c612b3$0$20290$...
>I agree, but since these two machines are servers sitting under a table in
>my office, it shouldn't matter.
>
> But it does!
> "HDRDTD" <> wrote in message
> news: ...
>> Great dectective work Tom.
>>
>> I've never been a fan of anybodies video card that shares system ram in
>> part because it can be very misleading for new people buying a video
>> card.
>>
>> But who would have thought that there would be some sort of
>> interaction/conflict between HD performance and a particular video
>> card/system ram combination.
>>
>> Perhaps Dell will take your findings into consideration next time they
>> have a BIOS upgrade.
>>
>> "Tom Scales" <> wrote in message
>> news:45c5f7ec$0$29703$...
>>> As some of you know, I've had hard drive performance problems on the
>>> boot drive of my new Dimension 9200. I do not see the problem on other
>>> drives, either SATA or IDE. It is not the physical hard drive, as I
>>> swapped it for a larger, different brand and the problem remained.
>>>
>>> BIOS 1.0.3 work OK, but with some performance problems
>>> BIOS 2.x.x is unusable. The hard drive performance drops to almost Zero
>>> every few seconds -- or sometimes less frequently, but enough to make
>>> the drive useless for TV recording.
>>>
>>> Thought I'd try some different variations. For some reason, the video
>>> card came to mind, as it is an nVidia 7300LE that uses system memory.
>>> The machines have 1GB and I'm not doing anything video card intensive,
>>> so it shouldn't matter.
>>>
>>> But it does.
>>>
>>> Swapping the 7300LE for either an ATI X300SE (which also uses system
>>> memory) or an nVidia 7600GS (which doesn't) solves the problem. In
>>> particular, the 7600GS results in absolutely smooth graphs in HDTune.
>>>
>>> Upping the memory to 2GB (stealing the 1GB from my other 9200) solves
>>> the problem for the 7300LE!
>>>
>>> So the problem is related to the nVidia 7300LE.
>>>
>>> I've sent the information to Dell (although I don't expect a response
>>> today). I've asked that they resolve the problem, either with a better
>>> nVidia card (don't want an ATI) or more memory. Reasonable solutions, I
>>> believe, since it is a flaw in the system.
>>>
>>> Comments welcome.
>>>
>>> Tom
>>>
>>
>>
>
>

I just looked in task manager. Total memory is 1GB and free memory is
600mb.

And that's with two recordings and two conversions from Mpeg to AVI running.

Page file is

Initial 1536mb
Max 3075mb
Allocated 1536

So, it's never had to increase it. This is the heavier used of the two
machines.

Tom


"Rich" <> wrote in message
news:...
> What is the size of your paging file on these 9200s with the 7300 card?
>
>
>
> "Tom Scales" <> wrote in message
> news:45c612b3$0$20290$...
>>I agree, but since these two machines are servers sitting under a table
>>in my office, it shouldn't matter.
>>
>> But it does!
>> "HDRDTD" <> wrote in message
>> news: ...
>>> Great dectective work Tom.
>>>
>>> I've never been a fan of anybodies video card that shares system ram in
>>> part because it can be very misleading for new people buying a video
>>> card.
>>>
>>> But who would have thought that there would be some sort of
>>> interaction/conflict between HD performance and a particular video
>>> card/system ram combination.
>>>
>>> Perhaps Dell will take your findings into consideration next time they
>>> have a BIOS upgrade.
>>>
>>> "Tom Scales" <> wrote in message
>>> news:45c5f7ec$0$29703$...
>>>> As some of you know, I've had hard drive performance problems on the
>>>> boot drive of my new Dimension 9200. I do not see the problem on other
>>>> drives, either SATA or IDE. It is not the physical hard drive, as I
>>>> swapped it for a larger, different brand and the problem remained.
>>>>
>>>> BIOS 1.0.3 work OK, but with some performance problems
>>>> BIOS 2.x.x is unusable. The hard drive performance drops to almost
>>>> Zero every few seconds -- or sometimes less frequently, but enough to
>>>> make the drive useless for TV recording.
>>>>
>>>> Thought I'd try some different variations. For some reason, the video
>>>> card came to mind, as it is an nVidia 7300LE that uses system memory.
>>>> The machines have 1GB and I'm not doing anything video card intensive,
>>>> so it shouldn't matter.
>>>>
>>>> But it does.
>>>>
>>>> Swapping the 7300LE for either an ATI X300SE (which also uses system
>>>> memory) or an nVidia 7600GS (which doesn't) solves the problem. In
>>>> particular, the 7600GS results in absolutely smooth graphs in HDTune.
>>>>
>>>> Upping the memory to 2GB (stealing the 1GB from my other 9200) solves
>>>> the problem for the 7300LE!
>>>>
>>>> So the problem is related to the nVidia 7300LE.
>>>>
>>>> I've sent the information to Dell (although I don't expect a response
>>>> today). I've asked that they resolve the problem, either with a better
>>>> nVidia card (don't want an ATI) or more memory. Reasonable solutions,
>>>> I believe, since it is a flaw in the system.
>>>>
>>>> Comments welcome.
>>>>
>>>> Tom
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>

I have the Dell X1300 Pro in the XPS410 as I mentioned to you when your
problem first appeared but then we didnt think about the video card.

Diskeeper 9 recommended increasing the paging file to 2K MBytes so I did
when first setting up the system. I usually only see one dip right at the
beginning when running HDtune. Also I am still running BIOS 2.1.0 which isnt
available on the Downloads page for the XPS410/9200.



"Tom Scales" <> wrote in message
news:45c661d7$0$30105$...
>I just looked in task manager. Total memory is 1GB and free memory is
>600mb.
>
> And that's with two recordings and two conversions from Mpeg to AVI
> running.
>
> Page file is
>
> Initial 1536mb
> Max 3075mb
> Allocated 1536
>
> So, it's never had to increase it. This is the heavier used of the two
> machines.
>
> Tom
>
>
> "Rich" <> wrote in message
> news:...
>> What is the size of your paging file on these 9200s with the 7300 card?
>>
>>
>>
>> "Tom Scales" <> wrote in message
>> news:45c612b3$0$20290$...
>>>I agree, but since these two machines are servers sitting under a table
>>>in my office, it shouldn't matter.
>>>
>>> But it does!
>>> "HDRDTD" <> wrote in message
>>> news: ...
>>>> Great dectective work Tom.
>>>>
>>>> I've never been a fan of anybodies video card that shares system ram in
>>>> part because it can be very misleading for new people buying a video
>>>> card.
>>>>
>>>> But who would have thought that there would be some sort of
>>>> interaction/conflict between HD performance and a particular video
>>>> card/system ram combination.
>>>>
>>>> Perhaps Dell will take your findings into consideration next time they
>>>> have a BIOS upgrade.
>>>>
>>>> "Tom Scales" <> wrote in message
>>>> news:45c5f7ec$0$29703$...
>>>>> As some of you know, I've had hard drive performance problems on the
>>>>> boot drive of my new Dimension 9200. I do not see the problem on
>>>>> other drives, either SATA or IDE. It is not the physical hard drive,
>>>>> as I swapped it for a larger, different brand and the problem
>>>>> remained.
>>>>>
>>>>> BIOS 1.0.3 work OK, but with some performance problems
>>>>> BIOS 2.x.x is unusable. The hard drive performance drops to almost
>>>>> Zero every few seconds -- or sometimes less frequently, but enough to
>>>>> make the drive useless for TV recording.
>>>>>
>>>>> Thought I'd try some different variations. For some reason, the video
>>>>> card came to mind, as it is an nVidia 7300LE that uses system memory.
>>>>> The machines have 1GB and I'm not doing anything video card intensive,
>>>>> so it shouldn't matter.
>>>>>
>>>>> But it does.
>>>>>
>>>>> Swapping the 7300LE for either an ATI X300SE (which also uses system
>>>>> memory) or an nVidia 7600GS (which doesn't) solves the problem. In
>>>>> particular, the 7600GS results in absolutely smooth graphs in HDTune.
>>>>>
>>>>> Upping the memory to 2GB (stealing the 1GB from my other 9200) solves
>>>>> the problem for the 7300LE!
>>>>>
>>>>> So the problem is related to the nVidia 7300LE.
>>>>>
>>>>> I've sent the information to Dell (although I don't expect a response
>>>>> today). I've asked that they resolve the problem, either with a
>>>>> better nVidia card (don't want an ATI) or more memory. Reasonable
>>>>> solutions, I believe, since it is a flaw in the system.
>>>>>
>>>>> Comments welcome.
>>>>>
>>>>> Tom
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>

Correct Tom, no problem here with dual Raptor 150's in a RAID 0 nor a single
WD 500.

"Tom Scales" <> wrote in message
news:45c64ba6$0$12246$...
> Actually, that's good. As I recall, you don't have the problem.
> "HDRDTD" <> wrote in message
> news: ...
>> Not me Tom, sorry. 8800GTS here.
>>
>> "Tom Scales" <> wrote in message
>> news:45c6233a$0$19034$...
>>> It would be interesting, but I have results from a 1/2 dozen people.
>>>
>>> For those that sent me your results, does anyone have the nVidia 7300LE?
>>>
>>>
>>> <RnR> wrote in message
>>> news:...
>>>> Since you are probably more familiar with the internal specs than
>>>> myself, I need to get back to you and tell you the bios I have (stock)
>>>> and the hdtune findings. I won't forget but I still need to take
>>>> care of a few things on my 9200 (technically xps410 but you know what
>>>> I mean) and so it will be a while before I get back to you on this.
>>>> I just thought it might be of interest to you but if I'm wrong, just
>>>> tell me to forget about it <g>.
>>>>
>>>> Oh, forgot to say earlier congrats in solving your problem and maybe
>>>> ours later on !!
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Sun, 4 Feb 2007 11:27:01 -0500, "Tom Scales" <>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>You won't. Great machines. I shouldn't need 2Gb for the application I
>>>>>am
>>>>>running. Shouldn't need anything beyond a 32mb video card either.
>>>>>
>>>>>Be interesting to see Dell's response
>>>>><RnR> wrote in message
>>>>>news: om...
>>>>>> Not that this will worry me (as I don't record tv) but in my case my
>>>>>> 9200 came with 2 gigs ram so my problem is solved thanks to you !! I
>>>>>> had to have a FAST trigger finger watching the outlet store when
>>>>>> this particular 9200 w/ 2gigs ram came up because its price was just
>>>>>> a
>>>>>> tad above the others which only had 1 gig. I already priced ram
>>>>>> elsewhere so I knew this system was well priced and decided to opt
>>>>>> for
>>>>>> 2 gigs based on things I read about Vista earlier. It does pay to
>>>>>> read ahead, plan ahead and have a fast trigger finger <g>. Actually
>>>>>> you and Barry also get some of the credit for swaying me to go for
>>>>>> the
>>>>>> 2 gigs of memory as well as my outside reading. Thanks because this
>>>>>> 9200 is a nice pc. I have NO regrets.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Sun, 4 Feb 2007 10:13:53 -0500, "Tom Scales" <>
>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>As some of you know, I've had hard drive performance problems on the
>>>>>>>boot
>>>>>>>drive of my new Dimension 9200. I do not see the problem on other
>>>>>>>drives,
>>>>>>>either SATA or IDE. It is not the physical hard drive, as I swapped
>>>>>>>it
>>>>>>>for
>>>>>>>a larger, different brand and the problem remained.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>BIOS 1.0.3 work OK, but with some performance problems
>>>>>>>BIOS 2.x.x is unusable. The hard drive performance drops to almost
>>>>>>>Zero
>>>>>>>every few seconds -- or sometimes less frequently, but enough to make
>>>>>>>the
>>>>>>>drive useless for TV recording.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Thought I'd try some different variations. For some reason, the
>>>>>>>video
>>>>>>>card
>>>>>>>came to mind, as it is an nVidia 7300LE that uses system memory. The
>>>>>>>machines have 1GB and I'm not doing anything video card intensive, so
>>>>>>>it
>>>>>>>shouldn't matter.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>But it does.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Swapping the 7300LE for either an ATI X300SE (which also uses system
>>>>>>>memory)
>>>>>>>or an nVidia 7600GS (which doesn't) solves the problem. In
>>>>>>>particular,
>>>>>>>the
>>>>>>>7600GS results in absolutely smooth graphs in HDTune.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Upping the memory to 2GB (stealing the 1GB from my other 9200) solves
>>>>>>>the
>>>>>>>problem for the 7300LE!
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>So the problem is related to the nVidia 7300LE.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>I've sent the information to Dell (although I don't expect a response
>>>>>>>today). I've asked that they resolve the problem, either with a
>>>>>>>better
>>>>>>>nVidia card (don't want an ATI) or more memory. Reasonable
>>>>>>>solutions, I
>>>>>>>believe, since it is a flaw in the system.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Comments welcome.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Tom
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>